Pocket Vinyl, Switchfoot, Boh Weevils, and more

Al Shipley

WEDNESDAY: Connecticut piano-rockers Pocket Vinyl plays the Sidebar with Little Cricket and Supercity. The English Beat plays ska classics for the general public at Baltimore Soundstage. Beyoncé left fans expecting a 2013 album hanging until last week, just as the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour rolls into Washington for tonight's concert at the Verizon Center. Local "jamtronica" band DELTAnine plays the 8x10 with BioDiesel and East Ghost. Don't miss: Singer-songwriter-banjo dude Jacob Panic performs at Joe Squared.

THURSDAY: Beggars Tomb is this week's Grateful Dead tribute band for the 8x10's month-long DEADcember event. Earnest California band Switchfoot and slimy Danish dance-rockers New Politics headline the final night of WHFS' HFSMas Nutcracker at Rams Head Live. Gaithersburg pop-punkers Braceface plays the Sidebar with the Breadshots and Enemy Insects. Paint Branch, featuring former members of Q and Not U, performs at the Black Cat in Washington. Moombahton producer Dillon Francis headlines the 9:30 Club. Don't miss: Chin-Yer from the Baltimore Scene kicks off the Movement, a new open mic event, at the 5 Seasons, with a featured performance from Jamal Loving, the singer-songwriter alias of Baltimore Club producer Blaqstarr (see page 35 for more on Blaqstarr).

FRIDAY: Blaqstarr makes another appearance at PSYCH'D, Metro Gallery's new genre-hopping party, with Thunderbird Juicebox, Shawn Smallwood, and more. BaltSound Management's BSM Xmas Charity Jam, which will benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, will feature music by Evolver and Carbonstone at Rams Head Live. Baltimore crust-metal band the Howling Curse plays the Sidebar with Old Lines and Asylum. Four Hours of Funk lays down obscure grooves at the Windup Space. Bobby E. Lee and the Sympathizers play the swampiest, stompiest good-timey music at the Ottobar with Haint Blue. Cover band White Ford Bronco plays '90s hits at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington. Don't miss: Baltimore's psychedelic trance-rock ensemble Telesma presents the fifth annual Winter Solstice Celebration at the 8x10, with local avant-garde human beatbox the Bowlegged Gorilla opening.

SATURDAY: Frazier's on the Avenue has another Winter Solstice celebration, filling the longest night of the year with music by Humanoise and Blind Man Leading. Veteran emo band Saves the Day is so through being cool that it's doing something incredibly uncool, a holiday acoustic tour, that stops at the Ottobar tonight. Zoso plays Led Zeppelin's hits at the Maryland Live Casino in Hanover. The Boh Weevils throw a Christmas Party at Joe Squared. Annapolis trio Bumpin' Uglies play the 8x10 with Pasadena and Tsunami Rising. Baltimore rockers the Cheaters perform at Growlers Restaurant and Brewery in Gaithersburg. Don't miss: KIXmas, the annual holiday celebration of Baltimore hard-rock royalty KIX, returns to Rams Head Live.

SUNDAY: New Jersey bands Chasing Safety and Youth in Revolt play the Ottobar. Don't miss: An die Musik's Joe Byrd Jazz Series has a program of holiday music with Stef Scaggiari, Sue Matthews, and Steve Abshire.

TUESDAY: 'Twas the night before Chistmas, and all through the joint, not a venue was rocking, not even in Fells Point.

WEDNESDAY: Unless there was a PA, a stage, and an array of musical instruments under your Christmas tree this morning, you're probably not going to any concerts.

IN THE WINGS: The Pixies are coming to the Strathmore in Bethesda on Jan. 26, probably with Paz Lenchantin, their third bassist in the space of a year. (For more information, visit strathmore.org or call [301] 581-5100.) YouTube pest-turned-minor pop radio annoyance Karmin will do its awful cutesy schtick at Baltimore Soundstage on Jan. 29. (For more information, visit baltimoresoundstage.com or call [410] 244-0057.) Young the Giant, part of the wave of bands with "the" in the middle of their name taking over alt-rock radio, will headline Rams Head Live with Cayucas on Feb. 25. (For more information, visit ramsheadlive.com or call [410] 244-1131.) International pop-opera sensation Il Divo performs at the Lyric Opera House on June 4. (For more information, visit lyricoperahouse.com or call [410] 900-1150.)